Hanley Ramirez expected to start Wednesday; Andre Ethier scratched

Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez is expected to start Wednesday against the New York Mets.

Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez is expected to start Wednesday against the New York Mets. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

Steve Dilbeck

About those plans that if Hanley Ramirez didn’t start Tuesday, the Dodgers would just hold him another day to take advantage of Thursday’s off-day?

Turns out, that was Monday’s plan.

On Tuesday, Ramirez remained out of the lineup with his jammed right shoulder, but now Manager Don Mattingly said the plan was to start him Wednesday.

“That kind of gets away with what we talked about that after Wednesday, wait until Friday,” Mattingly said. “But I think Stan [Conte, vice president of medical services] was more of a play one day, get a day off, make sure we can evaluate after he’s been through that and see how it went.”

Ramirez injured the shoulder after catching a foul ball at Wrigley Field on Aug. 4 and tumbling over a short wall. He pinch-hit Friday. Mattingly said Ramirez was actually ready to play Tuesday, but they wanted to give an additional day.

Ramirez had been one of baseball’s hottest hitters since coming off the disabled list June 4 from a sore hamstring, batting .354 with a National League-best .624 slugging percentage.

He has been particularly effective against right-handers this season (.371, seven homers 25 runs batted in) and the Mets are scheduled to start right-hander Dillon Gee on Wednesday.

Following Thursday’s off-day, the Dodgers start a three-game series in Philadelphia on Friday.

-- In other injury news, Andre Ethier was scratched from Tuesday’s lineup with left calf tightness.

Ethier was hit by a Pedro Strop pitch at Wrigley Field on Aug. 4 – the same day Ramirez was injured – and it has continued to bother him.